Syringe pumps are used in many different apparatus to deliver or remove fluids using a syringe by moving a plunger within a syringe barrel. Examples of some potential apparatus that may use a syringe pump include, but are not limited to, infusion pumps used to deliver a substance using a syringe, extracorporeal blood treatment devices, etc.
Extracorporeal blood treatment involves taking the blood from a patient, treating the blood outside the patient, and returning the treated blood to the patient. Extracorporeal blood treatment may be used to extract undesirable matter or molecules from the patient's blood and/or to add one or more beneficial substances to the blood. In many extracorporeal blood treatment devices in which one or more beneficial substances are introduced in liquid form into blood being treated extracorporeally, the liquids are delivered using a syringe pump. One example of a beneficial substance delivered in liquid form using a syringe pump in an extracorporeal blood treatment device is an anticoagulant (e.g., heparin).
Conventional syringe pumps, including those used in extracorporeal blood treatment devices, typically include apparatus and controls needed to dispense material from the syringe, without concern for whether or not the syringe is completely secured in the syringe pump. In particular, conventional syringe pump control systems are designed to detect occlusions that may impede or prevent accurate delivery of the beneficial substance in the syringe.